Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

The best things about these Chocolate Banana Cupcakes are first, they are a a delicious alternative to traditional banana bread recipes for using up old bananas. Second, they have a nice chocolate flavor without being overly chocolaty, if you know what I mean.

When that chocolate craving hits and you want something homemade OR you have bananas to use up. This easy recipe is just the thing!

My daughter likes to make the banana chocolate cupcake and top them with this Oreo Buttercream. That girl loves her Oreo’s!

I find that dipping these cupcakes into a chocolate ganache is simple and lighter vs a full on frosting or icing however, frosting is also tasty as pictured below (see recipe card notes for that recipe). They are also tasty without anything on top. Do what makes you happy!

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes are simple to make and not heavy which I really like. After eating one, you don’t have the full felling of regret that can sometimes follow after easting a slice of cake or muffin that is dense.

Tips

• Change the cupcakes to muffins or even muffin tops.
• Make a loaf instead (bake for 40-50 minutes). I recommend using parchment paper to easily lift out the loaf.
• Cupcake yield is determined by the size bananas used, should yield 10-12 cupcakes.
• Cool cupcakes before glazing.

Banana Chocolate Cupcake Ingredients

• butter 
• white sugar & brown sugar
• vanilla
• eggs
• browned bananas
• flour, baking powder & baking soda
• cocoa powder 
• chocolate chips / chocolate
• heavy cream

Variations

• Change up what you top the cupcakes with to any frosting or topping you enjoy.
• Top Banana Chocolate Cupcakes with a chocolate streusel followed by a drizzle of chocolate ganache, however if you were to do that, I would add another banana to the mixture to make them more dense. As I said above these cupcakes are lighter than traditional banana bread.
• Top freshly dipped cupcakes with chocolate curls for something a little fancy.
• Make as full size cupcakes or mini cupcakes.
• Fill the cupcakes with icing or cream.
• Make as a loaf cake instead of cupcakes.
• Use a muffin pan and turn these cupcakes into muffins.

Hope you enjoy making these easy Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with your family! XO Colleen

Recipe originally published September, 2020. Updated May, 2025.

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Colleen Kennedy is the author of 3 cookbooks and has appeared on QVC and other shows inspiring home cooks of all levels. She has a popular TikTok channel @ColleensCooking with hundreds of short recipe videos. Colleen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and kids, she started the food blog, Soufflé Bombay in 2009. Read more about her here.

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

Colleen Kennedy

A perfectly delicious way to use up old bananas and satisfy your chocolate craving! These easy to make cupcakes deliver delicate chocolate flavor are not as heavy as banana bread.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 servings

Calories 266 kcal

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ½ cup butter room temperature
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ TBS vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 whole peeled browned bananas
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder I use Hershey’s Special Dark, which is 100% cocoa however you can choose to use what you have on-hand
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Ganache

• 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• In your mixing bowl, combine butter, sugars and vanilla and mix until smooth.

• Add in eggs and mix until incorporated.

• Add in bananas, and mash them into the batter with a potato masher or spatula and then mix until incorporated and smooth.

• Add in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, then slowly mix them into the batter till smooth.

• Fill liners to about 80-85% they don’t puff up like a cake batter would and bake cupcakes for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

• Once you remove the cupcakes from the oven, place them on a wire rack/cookie rack to allow them to cool.

• While cupcakes are cooling, make the ganache.

• All you need to do to make ganache is to heat the cream, as soon as it steams and you see the first bubble(s) remover the cream from the heat. You do not want to boil this. Add in the chocolate chips, allow it to sit for a few minutes and then stir till smooth. The warm cream will melt the chocolate.

• Dip just the tops of the cupcakes one by one into the ganache, giving each a thin covering of ganache. If you want a thicker topping you can allow the toppings to harden up a bit on the cupcakes, rewarm the remaining ganache (or make a seconds batch) and dip a second time OR you could make a whipped chocolate ganache instead.

• If you want an extra chocolate kick, feel free to add in some chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the batter.

Notes

You can also choose to make a delicious chocolate frosting for these by whipping 1 stick of room temperature butter for 3 minutes, next add in 1 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar and whip for another 2 minutes. Add in 1 ½ TBS vanilla and mix till incorporated and then add in  ⅓ cup melted chocolate and a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth. SO yummy!  Tip, yes you can melt your chocolate in the microwave (using semi sweet chocolate chips) melt in 30 second bursts, tossing once or twice until chips are “shiney”. Allow them to sit for a minute to finish melting, stir until smooth and add to the frosting mixture. 

Nutrition

Serving: 12servingsCalories: 266kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 135mgPotassium: 220mgFiber: 3gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 366IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 2mg

Keyword banana cupcakes, choclate banana cupcakes, chocolate banana bread

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